Poppies

Three guinea hens peck around a field of flowering poppies. The combination of guineafowls and poppies follows the East Asian subject of birds and flowers, in which a pair of a creature and plant evokes seasonal and literary associations. Neither guineafowls nor poppies are indigenous to Japan, and thus are a new pairing created by the painter. Yamada departed from Japanese painting in scale and subject matter but employed traditional painting techniques, pigments, and paper.

This painting is an example of Nihonga (Japanese-style painting). The category of Nihonga developed as a way to preserve the traditional techniques of Japanese painting in the late 19th century, when the Japanese were becoming interested in Western-style painting.